


Twisted and Tangled

by UmbraTsuki



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Canon Universe, F/F, I'll add more tags as we go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:41:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27096709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UmbraTsuki/pseuds/UmbraTsuki
Summary: "You want freedom, right?"..."Yes, you're right."What if Rapunzel was the one manipulated by Zhan Tiri into leaving the group and furthering her plans, rather than Cass? Cass still gets the Moonstone, but we see a new side to the Sundrop. And a new side to Rapunzel.
Relationships: Cassandra & Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled), Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 40





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Admittedly, I got the inspiration for this fic from a dream. Then after some brainstorming, I decided it definitely needed to be a thing. I hope you enjoy!

"You want freedom, right?"

A little ghost of a girl stood before Rapunzel. She had walked through a door in search of her friends, who she'd been separated from. Perhaps visiting this mystery house, the House of Yesterday's Tomorrow's, hadn't been the best idea after all.

But then, there were the potential futures that the girl showed her... futures that left Rapunzel bound within castle walls endlessly. That restricted her to day after day locked in with ladies-in-waiting, royal advisors, and subjects of the Kingdom. No chance at quality time with Eugene, Cass, or even Pascal. And certainly no adventure.

What's more, the little girl was right about another thing. Even with the confinement aside, the confinement that so reminded her of her time with Mother Gothel, Rapunzel couldn't handle the throne if she tried. She couldn't even make a decision to save her friends at the tree of Zhan Tiri without causing harm. What would she do to an entire Kingdom?

_"You know you can't tell anyone,"_ the little girl had said. _"If they know you won't go back to the Kingdom, they'll change pace and stop you from getting the Moonstone. And you need that."_

Rapunzel couldn't measure the truth of the girl's words. At first, she rejected them. But the girl had added more.

_"Remember how much you trusted Gothel?"_

She was right. Rapunzel had trusted Gothel with her life, loved her with her whole heart... and not an ounce of love had been returned.

Now, she didn't know if she could handle a lifetime of following a predetermined script. She didn't know if life as a queen would ever allow her the adventure she longed for. She didn't know who would be watching to make sure she colored within the lines, so to speak.

But she did know two things: she needed to get the Moonstone, and she needed to get her freedom.

"Yes, you're right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to [Wxlipse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wxlipse) for beta-reading this for me!!


	2. Momentum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Momentum (n)_   
>  _Buildup of strength initiated by an event._
> 
> When everything goes wrong in an instant.

"This is it, Rapunzel. Now, go get your destiny."

Eugene sent Rapunzel off with a smile, and Cassandra stood close behind. Something about the princess seemed a little off in the past couple days, and Cass couldn't quite pinpoint what that was. But the smile that Rapunzel returned to Eugene appeared empty in some way. Looking at Eugene's face, he hadn't appeared to notice. Cass stepped closer.

If she hadn't, she didn't think she would have caught the princess's next words.

"I won't need my destiny," she whispered under her breath, her voice barely more audible than the sound of a ripple in a pond. "I'm going to get my freedom."

In a moment of panic, Cass glanced back at Eugene again. She didn't think he'd heard a word. Was she just overthinking it? No. That didn't sound like the Rapunzel they knew. Thinking back to what Adira said about not knowing what would happen to Rapunzel, Cass wondered if the princess somehow knew the outcome already... and it didn't sound good.

Her heart raced as the thought of losing Rapunzel flashed before her eyes, and she couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't. Cass knew the Moonstone yielded dangerous power, perhaps beyond what she could imagine. It could do any number of things to her. But she knew she'd rather bear whatever the risks were than have Rapunzel endure those risks herself.

Just as the princess's fingertip's touched the Moonstone, Cassandra snatched it out from under her hand.

"No! Cassandra! What are you doing?!"

Rapunzel's voice, though louder this time, once again could barely be heard... at least by Cass. As she held the Moonstone, the energy quickly surged into her hand and throughout her body, and she could hardly think of anything but the burning sensation. It shook and took hold of everything within her. The energy of the Moonstone tugged at her body, almost as if stretching it out in different directions. When Cassandra brought the stone close to her chest to try to stabilize herself more, the stone itself pushed its way into her core. 

A pulse of energy spread outward before everything stilled.

Silence fell upon them for a moment.

Cassandra found herself on her knees, holding herself upright with unsteady arms. Her chest ached. A tingling sensation lingered in her body, especially the hand that had held the Moonstone. She lifted that hand to touch her chest. The stone rested there, etched into her skin. Black rock material covered every inch of her, except for her face. Her hair, what she could see out of her peripheral vision, turned silver in color. Everything felt heavy, the weight of the rock armor pressing on her. If Rapunzel had done this, she could only imagine what it would have done combined with the Sundrop. She didn't think she'd stop feeling sore for weeks.

Looking around, she saw Rapunzel laying a few feet away, her back turned.

"Raps??" She called out, crawling quickly over. "Rapunzel!"

She laid a hand on the princess's shoulder to turn her around, but the contact created sparks and sent a jolt through Cass's hand. More pain. Especially being her right hand, the one already burned by Rapunzel's magic before. Recoiling, she looked closer and saw a glow from in front of the blonde. A faint, yellow glow that grew in intensity by the second. 

The Sundrop's glow.

The warm light embraced the princess, surrounding her and lifting her back up onto her feet. It shone into the room, filling it with warmth. As it kept brightening, the light became nearly blinding, and Cass squinted to try to see what was going on.

In perhaps a similar manner as the Moonstone had just done to her, the Sundrop transformed Rapunzel. Her hair deepened in color, becoming reminiscent of a glowing flame. Her clothing became replaced with a vibrant, yellow gown, almost as blinding as the sun itself. Eventually, the light shrunk and concentrated in one spot on Rapunzel's chest. The Sundrop took the form of a small stone, centered within a golden, sun-shaped necklace around Rapunzel's neck. 

Standing over Cass, then, Rapunzel spoke.

"You stole it," she said. Her voice sounded empty. Just like the smile she'd given Eugene just moments before. "My Moonstone."

"Rapunzel, I—"

"Give it back."

Cass instinctively covered the stone in her chest with one hand, staring back up at Rapunzel. Those eyes were nothing like the soft, emerald eyes she knew. The eyes she knew always made her heart ache in ways she tried not to think about. These eyes chilled her to her core. "Raps, I can't," she said. "I don't know what it would do to you. _You_ don't know what it would do to you."

"I know it will give me what I need." Rapunzel's voice came out cold and sent chills through Cass's body. "What I've wanted all this time: to stop being tied down. Give it to me."

As Rapunzel spoke, Eugene started walking closer.

"Cassandra—"

"Stay out of this, Fitzherbert."

Cassandra snapped, and black rocks shot up in front of Eugene, cutting him off. His eyes widened, and Cass's heart dropped. She knew she did that. She knew she did that _unintentionally_. And she knew she'd have to figure out how to make sure that _doesn't_ happen without control. But she had to push the concern aside and focus on the more immediate, sunny problem in front of her.

"I won't let you have this." Perhaps it was wrong to deny the future queen something that she ordered be given to her. Perhaps anyone else in her position would just listen. But regardless, the former lady-in-waiting knew she couldn't budge. She stood up and took a step back, still holding her hand over the stone. Rapunzel's eyes stared back at her. It felt like an emotional wall stood between them. There was definitely _something_ there. "Just, please, can we talk about what's going on? You always say how that's what friends do."

"No." This time, when Rapunzel spoke, golden rocks shot up by her side. A new type of rock to worry about. She paused for a moment, but then she stepped toward Cass. Cass had to step back again. "You know you're one of the reasons I've always felt trapped, right? You, and Eugene, and everyone else. So I'm taking the Moonstone." 

A wall of golden rocks erupted behind Cass, giving her nowhere to go. Rapunzel stood in the way between her and the exit. 

"Raps, is this _really_ what you want?" Cass felt her heart pounding. She didn't want to fight the princess, of all people. Not the one person she swore she'd protect with her life. "We can find some other way for you so you won't feel trapped. But not this."

Without another word, Rapunzel brought forth more of the golden rocks, popping them up beside and pointing toward Cassandra. Instinctively, Cass focused her thoughts on countering with the black rocks, which came up from the opposite direction to break the golden ones. The princess tried again, this time bringing a dull rock from behind, and Cass sensed it just in time to counter. 

"I can't give you the Moonstone."

"Fine," Rapunzel's voice sounded more stern than it ever had. "Take it. But I'm leaving." 

Rapunzel turned around and began walking out. Cass followed. She even tried to use her own rocks, the black rocks, to slow down the path, and Rapunzel broke through them immediately with her golden counterparts. When the princess passed Eugene, he tried to talk to her, and she acted like she didn't hear him. 

"Rapunzel!" Cassandra started to jog, then run, trying to catch up with Rapunzel. But the now fiery-haired blonde began running herself. They ran through a hall, down a staircase. Through so many parts of the castle. Cassandra paid no attention to where they were going, she only watched for that flame-like hair so she wouldn't lose sight of it. Of her princess.

"Wait!"

"No!" Rapunzel turned around for a moment and built another wall of golden rocks between herself and Cass. "I'm sick of being stuck here. I've wanted to be free for my entire life! Eighteen years stuck in a tower, wondering about the world. Reading about adventures and cities and exploration. And when I thought I'd finally get it? I get stuck, cooped up in a castle or a caravan." Rapunzel's voice broke. Anger and pain tore through her words. "I will never get the freedom I want by being a princess of Corona." Those words stung. "I'm leaving."

"Raps—" Cass tried to call out again, reaching her hand toward the princess, but the Sundrop put another golden wall up, larger than before. Cass tried to break through it with the black rocks but figured out quickly that multiple layers of golden rock stood in the way. She continued using the black rocks, breaking layer by layer away. When she destroyed enough, it began falling. But by the time the dust settled, Rapunzel was gone.

Cass stepped through the rubble, seeing an opening in the wall that Rapunzel must have made. Even through it, Cass couldn't see where Rapunzel had gone. She turned back to search for and rejoin the group.

Just before she walked off, a bit of blue among the rocks caught her eye. Cass brushed aside the coverage and found Rapunzel's bag. The bag Cass had given her long ago. 

Cass picked it up gently, then held it against her chest. "I swear, I'll bring you back." No one was around to hear, but Cass didn't care. The sensation in her chest felt as if a knife were lodged in. And it wasn't only because of the Moonstone. 

"No matter what it takes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again to [Wxlipse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wxlipse) for beta-reading this for me! I'd also love to have another beta-reader since I find having multiple helps, so if anyone's interested, please let me know.
> 
> I have some artwork for this that I'll be posting on my Twitter (@akurokushion) soon.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'll try to post one around once a week or two. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Also, happy 10th anniversary to Tangled!! <3


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